James gilbbeds and milo habeis



.l. GILBEBDS &. M. HARRIS.

Butter-Buckets.

Patnted September 2,1873.

JAMES GILBERDS AND MILO HARRIS, OE JAMESTO WN, NEW YORK IMPROVEMENT INBUT ER-suc ers.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 142,456, datedSeptember .2, 1873 application flied July 25, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it .known that we, JAMES GILBERDS and MILO HARRIS, of Jamestown, inthe county of Chautauqua and State of New York, have invented certainImprovement in that class of Packages used to hold Butter, Lard, Fruit,or other articles of such nature as to require a strong close head orcover for safe transportation and protection from the atmosphere.

Our invention consists in securing the cover to such packages by meansof a hoop having flanged edges, or curvedin cross-section, in such amanner that the cover or head is held securely, the packagestrengthened, and the joint made tight by the same, and is also readilyopened when desired for inspection.

And to enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention,we proceed to describe its construction, reference being bad to theaccompanying drawings and the letters of reference thereon, in which-Figure l is an elevation of a package with our invention, and Fig. 2 isa sectional view of the same, in which A is the hoop; B, the cover; (1,the package; D, the rubber packing; E E, flanges on each end of hoop; Iscrew for connecting the two ends of hoop and drawing them together; G,lever for turning the same. The package 0 is made in the general form ofsuch packages from staves with bottom grooved in and held together bymeans of hoops; or it may be con structed of other materials inconvenient forms. The cover B is made of sufficient thickness to allow aflange to extend over the top of the package, said flange being aboutone-half as thick as the hoop A is wide, while the under side of saidcover projects into the package, fitting closely, as shown at H, Figs. 2and 3. The cover B isalso rounded on its upper corner in form of aquarter circle, and a corresponding quarter circle is out on the outeredge of package, the two forming a rib of semicircle or semi-ellipticalcross-section, with the cover joint along its medial line. The hoop A ismade, and swaged in form, to fit this said rib, except that its edgesare a little shorter, and it has flanges E E at each end,

into which the screw F is turned by the lever Gr, drawing the endstogether, thereby securing the cover to the package, and making acheaper, closer, and more durable package than others.

We sometimes make the hoop for this purpose with a flange on each edge,the lower flange fitting a groove in the side of the package, and theupper one extending over the edge of cover, as shown, and which may bedrawn together, as before described, but prefer the semicircle orsemi-elliptical form, as it draws the cover more firmly to the package.\Ve also sometimes use a thin rubber packing between the .hoop A andedge of cover and package to more thoroughly guard against theatmosphere in case of shrinkage of package, or when the hoop may not bedrawn sufficientlytight, thereby making an air-tight package. On jarsand the like, in place of the semicircle,

we prefer a raised bead or flange around edge of cover and jar, thecover being held as before. We also forsome purposes prefer the flangedhoop to be made ofrubber and stretched over these beads, so as to holdthe cover without the aid of the metal hoop.

The hoop A with curved cross-section, when tightened up by its clampingdevice, operates in both vertical and lateral directions, and

not only draws the cover downward upon the upper end of the package, asheretofore, but it also contracts said upper end and forces it inwardagainst the shoulder or portion of the cover B, which projects downwardinto the package, and thereby the inner upper an gle of the package isforced into the angle II of the rabbet of the cover, and the cover maybe made tight without the use of elastic packin g. The walls of thepackage 0 are sustained against lateral pressure by the rabbetedshoulder of cover B, and the clamping-hoop A so strengthens said upperend that it will remain undamaged even if the ordinary upper hoop bebroken or displaced.

By these means apackage is produced which, while it will preserve itscontents securely pro tected from atmospheric action and the risks ofstorage or transportation, may readily be opened for inspection of thecontents, and as readily closed again. 7

We are aware that a fruit-jar has been provided with a cover held inplace by a clamping device, which pressed it downward upon 2 Manse theupper edge of said jar; and, also, that such covers have been made withshouldered portions projecting downward within said jar; and, also, thatelastic washers have been placed beneath said covers to pack the joint;but we'are not aware that a package has ever been made having a coverwith a shouldered portion of the same fitted to, and projecting within,the open end of said package, and a clamping-hoop, having a curvedcross-section capable of securing said cover in place, and at the sametime clamping said package against the shoulder of the cover, as and tothe effect above set forth; nor are we aware that an elastic band hasever been placed beneath a joint, as described.

JAMES GILBERDS. MILO HARRIS.

Witnesses:

E. GREEN, J r., J OHN DAVIS.

